I've always seen Charlie Zahm perform solo -- vocals with guitar or bodhran -- or in the company of a lone fiddler. So when Charlie handed me a copy of A Summer's Morning Rare and asked for my opinion, I expected a similar format. But Charlie is full of surprises, and this CD caught me off guard with a full backing band.

There's no surprise in the power of Charlie's voice, however. He never fails to impress me with the strength of his baritone, belting out each song with an audible love for the words.

That brings me to the next surprise -- the source of those words. I was even more impressed when I read the liner notes and learned that each of these songs is a Charlie Zahm original. Sure, I hadn't heard them before, but they surely sounded like music straight from the North American-Celtic tradition.

Beginning with a rakish encounter on the shores of the "Chesapeake Bay," the album touches on many familiar topics: national pride ("Song for Canada"), a fisherman's life ("Monhegan Fisher," "Low Point Light"), the fears of a fisherman's wife ("Alone Again") and a longing for home ("Old Ireland," "Cape Breton"). "The Death of Charles Vane" is a piratical ballad based on a real historical figure; it's a seafaring tale of strife and betrayal sung in a grand style. "Carry Me Down" has a similar nautical flair, minus the piracy -- it's about the vanishing fishing trade in Nova Scotia. And "Sweet Virginia" is a melancholy tribute from an old sea captain to his lost ship.

This is a great collection of original songs. While Charlie dedicates the majority of his performances to well-known songs from the Celtic and Maritime traditions, I hope to see some of these songs enter folk circles and gain the recognition and familiarity they deserve.